Delve into the theme of femininity with :etchingsmelb. 10, a collection exploring the many facets of female identity. This beguiling compilation of fiction, poetry, art, interviews, reviews and memoirs honours the female as artist and poet; as the receiver, sustainer, and creator of lineage; as observer, empathiser, rebel, protector, adventurer and seeker; as both the dreamer and the realist.

Featured in this issue is an interview with Kate Holden on the ways her womanhood has been publicly constructed and contested, in which she confesses the personal risks and rewards of writing memoir and muses about whether she considers herself a feminist author. The fiction offered in this issue includes ‘The Ink on her Lips’ by A. S. Patric, and ‘Her Beauty as a Sword’ by Deborah Cass, each presenting subjective portraits of women with their quirks, strengths, and passions laid bare. In her memoir ‘All That Glitters’, Silk Chen questions traditional notions of femininity in Chinese culture as the tension and accord between past and present sensibilities haunt her.

The feminine is depicted, debated, and celebrated through the art of Deborah Klein, whose meticulously rendered heroines are exhibited and concealed in equal measure; through the father-daughter perspectives on modern femininity offered by artists George Kannavas and Ruby Kannavas; through the eternal female archetypes portrayed in the work of 19th century artist Gustave Moreau.

There is also a memoir from Palila Opit; poetry from Geoff Lemon, Bronwyn Mehan, Ahimsa Timeteo Bodráhn, Bob Morrow, Danielle Blasko, and others; fiction from Gretchen Shirm (Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist of the Year), Susan Bennett, Colin Varney, Patricia Costello and Moya Costello, Erin Ritchie, and many more.